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http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/012804_shooting_range-bill.html
Jan. 28, 2004
House panel OKs bill to protect shooting ranges
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Legislators are considering new ways to protect shooting ranges from urban encroachment, and supporters say a bill to limit development around a major range in Phoenix could be a model for protecting others around the state.
A bill (HB2158) approved unanimously by a House committee on Wednesday would apply only to the Ben Avery shooting range, a 1,650-acre facility said to be the largest publicly operated shooting facility in the country.
However, some members of the Committee on Utilities and Municipalities said they hoped similar protections could be provided elsewhere.
"It is a good precedent that we can domino around the state to protect other ranges," said Rep. John Nelson, a Glendale Republican who sponsored the bill and who is the committee's chairman.
The bill would require Phoenix to use its planning processes to restrict development within a half-mile of the range, which is used for recreational shooters, law enforcement training and competitive events.
Also, the Game and Fish Commission could not close the state-owned range without authorization from both the Legislature and the governor.
The bill's introduction followed negotiations with the city, the National Rifle Association's Arizona affiliate, the Game and Fish Commission and other state officials.
Its consideration comes two years after the Legislature passed a law to protect shooting ranges from neighbors' noise complaints. That law set noise limits but allowed ranges to use their compliance with those restrictions as defense against noise-related lawsuits.
During consideration of the 2002 legislation, range supporters were able to fend off proposals to make the bill more acceptable to property owners who said it favored the ranges.
The noise issue arose as development has spread outward from Arizona's booming cities and suburbs, prompting complaints from people moving into homes near ranges.
The Ben Avery range is operated by the Game and Fish Department in north Phoenix.
"We have encroachment occurring," Phoenix City Councilman Dave Sievert said while testifying for the bill.
Sievert and others said the provision requiring approval from both the Legislature and the governor as well as the commission before closure can occur is needed in case the makeup of the current commission changes.
The range is "currently administered by a very good and friendly Game and Fish Commission," said Terry Allison, president of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association. "The feelings of the current commission may not stretch into the future."
Noting that a range on federal land on Tucson's outskirts was forced to close, "we want better for Ben Avery," Allison said.
The bill was opposed by the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona. The builders want noise and other public-nuisance issues decided in court on a case-by-case basis, said lobbyist Spencer Kamps.
Jan. 28, 2004
House panel OKs bill to protect shooting ranges
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Legislators are considering new ways to protect shooting ranges from urban encroachment, and supporters say a bill to limit development around a major range in Phoenix could be a model for protecting others around the state.
A bill (HB2158) approved unanimously by a House committee on Wednesday would apply only to the Ben Avery shooting range, a 1,650-acre facility said to be the largest publicly operated shooting facility in the country.
However, some members of the Committee on Utilities and Municipalities said they hoped similar protections could be provided elsewhere.
"It is a good precedent that we can domino around the state to protect other ranges," said Rep. John Nelson, a Glendale Republican who sponsored the bill and who is the committee's chairman.
The bill would require Phoenix to use its planning processes to restrict development within a half-mile of the range, which is used for recreational shooters, law enforcement training and competitive events.
Also, the Game and Fish Commission could not close the state-owned range without authorization from both the Legislature and the governor.
The bill's introduction followed negotiations with the city, the National Rifle Association's Arizona affiliate, the Game and Fish Commission and other state officials.
Its consideration comes two years after the Legislature passed a law to protect shooting ranges from neighbors' noise complaints. That law set noise limits but allowed ranges to use their compliance with those restrictions as defense against noise-related lawsuits.
During consideration of the 2002 legislation, range supporters were able to fend off proposals to make the bill more acceptable to property owners who said it favored the ranges.
The noise issue arose as development has spread outward from Arizona's booming cities and suburbs, prompting complaints from people moving into homes near ranges.
The Ben Avery range is operated by the Game and Fish Department in north Phoenix.
"We have encroachment occurring," Phoenix City Councilman Dave Sievert said while testifying for the bill.
Sievert and others said the provision requiring approval from both the Legislature and the governor as well as the commission before closure can occur is needed in case the makeup of the current commission changes.
The range is "currently administered by a very good and friendly Game and Fish Commission," said Terry Allison, president of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association. "The feelings of the current commission may not stretch into the future."
Noting that a range on federal land on Tucson's outskirts was forced to close, "we want better for Ben Avery," Allison said.
The bill was opposed by the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona. The builders want noise and other public-nuisance issues decided in court on a case-by-case basis, said lobbyist Spencer Kamps.
